Building a cheap virtualization server

[zeekr]

I want to build a cheap virtualization server for software dev/testing.

Here's what I have so far from doing a little bit of research:

CPU: Intel Xeon Quad-Core E3-1220V2 3.1 GHz, Socket 1155, Ivy Bridge
MB: Asus P8Z77-M PRO Motherboard, Socket 1155, Intel Z77, 4xDDR3
RAM: 32GB Cheapest DDR3 RAM I can find
Disk: 1TB 7500 RPM
Case: Old uAtx case
PSU: 450w Seasonic fanless

I believe the Asus board supports Xeon CPUs, even though Asus doesn't list it explicitly on their site. I need 32GB of RAM as there are going to be at least 12 VMs running concurrently. I might be able to add a 60GB cache SSD that's supported by Z77 chipset if people think the performance is better.

I have access to Microsoft Hyper-V server but could also go with VMWare Workstation if it performs better.

Any thought/suggestions/criticisms appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

ASUS Pro motherboards and Seasonic X series PSUs don't really fall into the category of "cheap" IMHO. At first glance, I'd say that your spending too much on the CPU, mobo, and PSU and not enough on the storage system. Also, if you're going to be running a bunch of Windows VMs, page fusion will make it such that your RAM requirements are going to be much lower than you might think.

Can you answer the questions from the sticky? I'll work up a build for you based on that.

 

[KentState]

Like mfenn said, your storage will not be adequate for running multiple VMs. You can split ram and cores easily, but taking a single disk and splitting IO will only hurt things. I'm not sure what your budget is, but either go with a few smaller disk or maybe a larger SSD like the Crucial M4.

 

[zeekr]

Thanks for the comments guys and apologies for not reading the sticky.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Headless VM server for programming and testing setup. I don't plan to use it for things like serving files but I do need to run a bunch of Windows domain controllers, Exchange, SQL Servers etc.
​

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Let's say $700 USD, might be able to stretch it to $800.
​

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

I'm in New Zealand. Things aren't as cheap here as they are in the states. The $700 USD parts are probably going to be around $1400 NZD.
​

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I've got no brand preference but am willing to pay a small premium for reliability and performance.
​

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I've the the PSU and uATX Case but might be able to get a cheap ATX and more disks if required.
​

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Would prefer stock speeds or mild OC.
​

8. What resolution will you be using?

I don't think this applies to a VM server. The virtualized OSes will have to have at least 1024x768 res.
​

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Probably this month.​

 

[KentState]

My current setup is:
i7 3770k, 32GB RAM, ASUS P8Z77 V Deluxe, Synology NAS.

I can typically run 10 VMs at any time which include: 2 domain controllers, 4-5 SQL Servers, 1 web server, 1 Exchange, 1-2 Windows 7 machines and sometimes a Sharepoint server. Unless the database servers are churning away, the CPU and RAM are sufficient. I can easily max out each 1000Mb NIC to the NAS which translates into about 180MB/sec.

IMO, go with a Sandy Bridge CPU and cheaper MB that has four memory slots. Spend the rest of the money on a couple fast Crucial M4 drives. About how much disk space will these VMs require? In my setup, I'm right around 1 TB.

 

[Zargon]

a dell perc raid card is a cheap way to go to a 'enterprise' storage system too, I paid under 40 for each of mine, and one has the battery and extra memory

 

[zeekr]

My current setup is:
i7 3770k, 32GB RAM, ASUS P8Z77 V Deluxe, Synology NAS.

I can typically run 10 VMs at any time which include: 2 domain controllers, 4-5 SQL Servers, 1 web server, 1 Exchange, 1-2 Windows 7 machines and sometimes a Sharepoint server. Unless the database servers are churning away, the CPU and RAM are sufficient. I can easily max out each 1000Mb NIC to the NAS which translates into about 180MB/sec.

IMO, go with a Sandy Bridge CPU and cheaper MB that has four memory slots. Spend the rest of the money on a couple fast Crucial M4 drives. About how much disk space will these VMs require? In my setup, I'm right around 1 TB.

That's a nice system you've got there.

Originally I went with Xeon CPU because it has a bit more cache and I thought it might be useful. Is that not true?

I can go with non-Xeon system but will have to stick with i5 to stay within the budget. Both the 2600k and i3770k are ~500 NZD. Surprisingly here the Sandy chips aren't much cheaper than Ivy.

Actually I don't need a lot of disk space. Maybe OS+10GB for servers and OS+5GB for clients. I do need fast response times, so your SSD idea is very tempting.

 

[zeekr]

a dell perc raid card is a cheap way to go to a 'enterprise' storage system too, I paid under 40 for each of mine, and one has the battery and extra memory

Interesting, I'm looking these up now.

 

[KentState]

The extra cache isn't worth it IMO. Honestly, I purchased a 120GB Mushkin SSD a few month ago on a whim and it had the biggest impact on the initial load of a VM and usage.

For example, I can create a new Windows 7 VM and install the OS in just a few minutes. It takes probably 10 times longer going against the local 1TB WD Black HDD that I also tested with. I can almost instantly suspend a VM stored on the SSD compared to probably 1+ minutes on the HDD. My current approach is building all VMs on the SSD then moving them to the NAS once I'm satisfied. While all of this is going on, I have had public facing web servers with a SQL Server backend and Exchange running with barely a hit to the CPU (10-15%).

 

[zeekr]

KentState, can I ask what virtualization software are you using?

 

[KentState]

I'm using VMWare Workstation 8.

 

[zeekr]

Thanks. So you have convinced me that SSD is the way to go.

What's your thoughts on this?

Intel Core i5 3570K Ivy Bridge 3.40Ghz 6MB 77W LGA1155
ASUS P8Z77-M Pro Intel Z77 DDR3 SLI+Crossfire PCI-E3.0 LGA1155
--Mushkin Blackline FrostByte 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3-1600 CL10 (994055)--
--SanDisk SDSSDX-240G-G25 Extreme 240GB Solid State Drive--

Comes to ~1500 NZD. There is about $30 difference between 3570 and 3570K but I see that the K edition doesn't have VTd. Is that something worth having?

/Edit: I found slightly cheaper RAM and SSD prices.
A-Data 1x8GB, DDR3-1600, PC3-12800, CL9, DIMM
Transcend SSD720 TS256GSSD720 Solid State Drive, 256GB, SATA 6

Assuming I can use the cheap 4x8GB DIMMs, it comes to ~1200 NZD.

 

[KentState]

Just go with the 3570. Unless you are going to overclock for gaming, you will getting nothing different. I regret not going with the 3770 instead of the K version.

 

[Zargon]

dont the K versions not have direct IO enabled or something? its been a while since I built my esxi host so Im a bit rusty

 

[mfenn]

dont the K versions not have direct IO enabled or something? its been a while since I built my esxi host so Im a bit rusty

They both have VT-d. It doesn't really matter unless you're using a server-grade NIC and/or HBA that actually supports exposing multiple PCIe virtual functions (VFs) though.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks. So you have convinced me that SSD is the way to go.

What's your thoughts on this?

Intel Core i5 3570K Ivy Bridge 3.40Ghz 6MB 77W LGA1155
ASUS P8Z77-M Pro Intel Z77 DDR3 SLI+Crossfire PCI-E3.0 LGA1155
--Mushkin Blackline FrostByte 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3-1600 CL10 (994055)--
--SanDisk SDSSDX-240G-G25 Extreme 240GB Solid State Drive--

Comes to ~1500 NZD. There is about $30 difference between 3570 and 3570K but I see that the K edition doesn't have VTd. Is that something worth having?

/Edit: I found slightly cheaper RAM and SSD prices.
A-Data 1x8GB, DDR3-1600, PC3-12800, CL9, DIMM
Transcend SSD720 TS256GSSD720 Solid State Drive, 256GB, SATA 6

Assuming I can use the cheap 4x8GB DIMMs, it comes to ~1200 NZD.

Server 2008 R2 supports TRIM, so you would be fine with Sandforce drives. If you were going to run something like ESXi though, you would want to stick with drives that don't rely as much on good TRIM support like the Samsung 830.

 

[zeekr]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the help.